Handlettering gone wild

Hello there!

I hope you’ve been having a great time with us during our 5 days of previews for Sunday’s big release day. Today we’ve got a set that stands out from the rest—in a cool kind of way—and I hope you’ll give it a whirl in your craft room!

Do you ever find yourself musing about handlettering, sign painting, typography, font design, and wood type? (It’s OK to say no, I’m an admitted lettering nerd.) There are just so many lettering styles, and so little time! From the script on the window of a beauty shop, to the scrawl on a punk rock show flyer, the world of lettering is endless and inspiring! If I ever take a sabbatical, it might be to learn more about this fascinating topic, and spend more time honing my skillz. (Can you take a sabbatical if you work for yourself? Thinking that’s a no...)

Meanwhile, a hand-crafted lettering style that I’m fond of using involves grabbing a pointy paintbrush, dabbing the brush somewhat gloppily into gouache paint, and pretty much just going at the paper like a wild person.

It’s not a dainty look, but it’s a REAL look. It’s authentic, and it gives a personal touch. It’s kind of bold, and has moxie!

At times I press down hard with the brush, but as I curve around to form the next letter, I may use more delicate pressure. I’ve been working with this rustic look for many years on personal projects and for some client work, too. Here are a few examples just to show ya....

In this poster for a monthly motorcycle event that Doug and I put on in St. Louis, I combined my painted lettering with a crisp and snappy, condensed font. I also drew my first motorcycle dude. By the way, If you’re curious about vintage motorcycles at all, check out our Kick-It Vintage website, which features details about our local event, plus all of the posters I’ve designed, and lots more lettering styles. I really get to experiment there, and I love having that freedom.

Had a great time scrapping together this red-white-and-blue treatment for our July bike night, using an old envelope and sticky notes for my canvases. All stuck to my red 1968 Yamaha.

Here’s a logo I designed years ago for Lisa Fontanarosa Collection. Lisa is a lovely and inspiring person who is an artist’s representative working with some of the world’s most talented creators of decorative objects. She selects “true artists the world hasn’t discovered yet,” and seeks out “works that invite the touch” like the hand-cut, appliquéd velvet pillows shown above. We thought that the rough-hewn lettering was ideal to support her brand.

A special banner for Lisa’s blog is a collage with photos of French artist Marie Christophe’s work, along with my handlettering, fonts, and scans of scribbling on notebook paper.

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OK, MARCY, WHAT DOES ANY OF THIS HAVE TO DO WITH STAMPING?

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Well, lookee here at what I made for you to stamp with...

I’ve been wanting to plow outside my typical stamp design zone, and I sure hope you dig it as much as I do. You may find that it works well alongside crisp and snappy sentiments (remember that Vintage Bike Night poster!), and give some bold freshness to our beloved botanicals. Used on their own, these stamps are stylish enough to be the main element.

Big Scripts kicks your cards up a notch in the coolness department!

To help show you what I mean, look at what the Bloom Brigade hath wrought with this set:

Dawn Burnworth

Julie Koerber

Stacy Morgan

Tosha Leyendekker
Katie Sims
Christine Okken

I do hope you’ll come back tomorrow for ONE MORE set. And we may have saved the very best—if not the cheeriest!—for last! :)

Have a superfun day!